Learning to Trust (A Leo Valdez Love Story)

Chapter 37

KYRA

    Kyra woke up feeling more well-rested than she ever had before. She felt her face warm as she was reminded of Leo's words to her last night when she had asked him what that word he kept calling her, mariposa, meant. 

    "Oh, it's a nickname. My mom always said that nicknames were a good way to show someone you care about them." 

    Out of all that happened last night, the thing Kyra had the most difficulty wrapping her head around was the fact that Leo cared for her. Apparently, Audrey was right. It was strange, Kyra wasn't used to people caring about her. 

    She walked somewhat aimlessly around camp, enjoying the freedom of finally being able to go where she wanted, when she wanted. She let a soft smile grace her face as she thought of Leo's reassuring words to her, how he spoke so softly and told her that what happened to her wasn't her fault. 

    Audrey gave Kyra a warm smile as she walked into the infirmary, carrying the sweatshirt she had borrowed. "Here you go," Kyra spoke quietly, keeping her voice down as there were campers sleeping.

    "Thanks, Kyra," Audrey replied with a smile, taking the sweatshirt from Kyra's hands. She nodded, looking around the infirmary. "You need any help? I don't have anything to do today."

    Before Audrey could respond, Will rounded the corner quickly, "Ah, ah, ah. Kyra, today's your first day off in like, forever. We appreciate the help but you can go have fun you know," he spoke with a smile.

    "Oh, I know, I just thought if you needed help, well, I could help..." she trailed off. While she liked having the freedom to do what she wanted, she wasn't exactly sure what it was she wanted to actually do. She spent a lot of time helping around camp because it's what she'd been trained to do. Kyra didn't know what to do with herself if she wasn't being of service to another person. She knew it was sad but she didn't remember if she had any hobbies. She was taken when she was so young that even if she had hobbies, she was sure they wouldn't be of interest to her now that she was older. 

"I bet Leo would be happy to see you," Audrey spoke with a wide grin on her face, causing Kyra to blush. 

    Will looked at the two with an amused expression. "So you and Leo have been getting pretty close, Kyra?" he spoke with a hint of teasing that Kyra was getting pretty good at picking up on. 

    She felt her face flush more as the siblings looked at her, their eyes shining as bright as the sun their father controlled. "We- we're becoming good friends," she spoke softly, feeling a smile play at her lips at the thought of the kind Latino boy. 

    Audrey opened her mouth but Will quickly put his hand over it, causing Kyra to furrow her eyebrows. "Right. And we're very happy for you two," he spoke, giving Audrey a look that was not missed by Kyra, she just couldn't decipher what it meant. 

    Audrey rolled her eyes and gently pushed her brother's hand off her mouth. Kyra turned around as she noticed someone walk into the infirmary. It was Piper with a sheepish smile, Kyra smiled back. 

    "Hey guys," she said. "Sorry to bother you so early, Lacey hit her head trying to get a pair of shoes out of the closet this morning so I was just wondering if I could grab some Ambrosia for her." 

    "Is she okay?" Kyra questioned as Will nodded and went to grab some Ambrosia. 

    "She's fine; We didn't want to bother you guys but she's not really feeling up for walking." 

    Will handed her Ambrosia, "Well I can come back with you just to check if you want," Kyra spoke, feeling bad about leaving a girl with a potential head injury with no medical attention.